The Kite Runner - Questions, reading assignments

1
Week/Pages
Week 1: 1-106 (Chapters 1-8)
Week 2: 107-199 (Chapters 9-14)
Week 3: 200-306 (Chapters 15-22)
Week 4: 307-391 (Chapters 23-25)

Theme
Phoniness
Social Media Challenge vs. Isolation
Controlling the Identity we project
Connections to Characters

The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 1 - Phoniness

Note: phony = not genuine
1)Before you get started answering novel-specific questions, think about the these
issues that are related to phoniness:
(a) What sorts of behaviour do you see as phony? (b) How critical of other peoples
phoniness are you?
(c) Is phoniness always a bad thing? (d) Why do people lie? What do they gain from it?
(e) How is power connected to lying?
2)Look at the following moments in Amir and Babas relationship and then answer the
question below the examples.
(a) Amirs birth and the death of his mother. (b) Amir and Babas picnic trip together on
page 15.
(c) On pages 23-25 when Amir overhears Baba and Rahim Khan talking about him.
(d) On page 52 when Amir says, Baba and I lived in the same house, but in different
spheres of existence.
(e) When Amir says,And maybe, just maybe, I would be pardoned for killing my
mother(60).
QUESTION: Why does Amir feel he needs to shape his personality to be appreciated by
his
father and in what ways does he do so?
3)In what ways is Amirs relationship to Hassan shaped by the fact that Amir is a Pashtun
and Hassan is a Hazara? In order to answer this question, you may need to think about
what you learn about the difference in this section of the novel. See pages 9-10 for some
specific information.
4)Baba says, at one point, When you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.
Do you agree? Explain your answer.
5)On the night before the kite running competition, Amir says the following: That was
the thing about Hassan. He was so goddamn pure, you always felt like a phony around
him(62). Do you agree that Amir is a phony? If so, why do you think he acts like a
phony?
6)Look at the following examples of Amir lying and in each case explain why you
think Amir is lying: (a) On page 14 when Amir lies to Baba about the fact that Hassan is
sick.
(b) On page 44 when Amir lies to Assef about the fact that Hassan is his friend. (c) On
page 83, when Amir lies directly to Hassan and says, Where were you? I looked for you?

7)In what ways are Amirs self-image and personality changed by the incident which
he witnesses at the end of the kite running competition from pages 76 to 83?
---------------------------Blog Entry #1:
Section 1: In what way(s) does Amir act like a phony? What are his reasons for behaving
this way? What do we learn from Amir about WHY people act phony?
Section 2: Think of a time in your life when you lied, or were phony. Examine why you
behaved this way. In what way can your reasons be seen as similar to Amirs?

The Kite Runner - Questions for Section 2 - Social Media

Challenge and Other Matters
-

Last time, your focus was on the theme of phoniness. This time, youll be looking at and
thinking about isolation, acceptance, friendship, communication, and reputation.
1)As youre reading, watch for and list at least two moments when people are separated
from each other (eg) Hassan and Ali leave Baba and Amir at the beginning of the section
(115). For each case, explain why the people are separated and what the effect of the
separation is on the characters involved.
2)Now that youve thought about what separates people, what connects people
according to this section of the novel? Choose two examples from the following list and
for each, explain (1) what is bringing the characters together and (2) identify and explain
a real-life example that you can think of from your own life or from the
life of someone close to you when that same force brought people together.
(a) Many people from Afghanistan go to the same flea market (145).
(b) The people escaping Afghanistan together in Chapter 10 (116).
(c) Amir and Babas relationship during this section. See, especially, moments like
the one on page 182 when we realize Baba has been reading Amirs stories.
(d) Amir and Soraya in chapter 13 (175) and elsewhere.
3)What kind of an effect does immigration to America have on Baba and Amir? How is
the effect different and why? See, for example, the passage on pages 135 and 136 about
the incident in the convenience store, especially when Amir writes, For me, America was
a place to bury my memories./ For Baba, a place to mourn his(136). See also when Amir
compares America to a river on page 144.
4) On page 138, Baba returns the food stamps he has been given by the government. We
are told that his greatest fear is that someone would see him buying food with charity
money. In other words, Baba is really worried about how others see him, about his
reputation. Also, on page 153, we are told about the
importance of nang and namoos or honour and pride to the Afghan people.
Identify and explain at least two other moments in this section of the novel (or
from the first section) when a character is motivated by reputation (to do
something or to hide something about themselves).
b) Identify and explain a time when you or someone you know has done something
motivated by building
or keeping up a reputation.
a)

Extra Note: the story of Rostam and Sohrab seems to be quite important to this book. If
youre interested, here is a link to a quick explanation of what it is about
(http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/inside/shahnamestories/storyeight/sohrabdeath.html)
and here is a link to the full English translation
(http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/shahnameh/08rostam_sohrab.php)
----------------------------------------------Blog Entry # 2: The Kite Runner and the Social Media Challenge
Section 1: What are some examples from the novel where characters feel isolated
and/or alone? What is the cause of the character feeling this way? What are some ways
the character(s) tries to NOT feel lonely or isolated?
Section 2: Think about the social media challenge and your experiences trying (or not
trying) to do it. Why do you think you were asked to stop using social media and
texting? What insights did you gain from trying and/or failing at doing this? In what
ways do people use social media so that they dont feel isolated? What events from the
novel relate to the reason why people did well or didnt do well at taking on this
challenge?